The present invention relates generally to a gun gas driven Gatling gun assembly and, in particular, to a hydraulic system for providing initial rotation and acceleration of the barrel cluster of the gun and for also regulating the rotational speed of the barrel cluster during the firing mode.
While Gatling type guns have been well known for over a century, they continue to be found in the current military arsenal. A Gatling type gun includes a plurality of individual barrels arranged in a circular barrel cluster for rotation about a common longitudinal gun axis. As the barrel cluster is rotated, the individual barrels are serially loaded with ammunition, fired, and subsequently cleared for reloading. Such a construction enables the gun to achieve a very high firing rate.
Over the years, various types of drive mechanisms have been proposed for rotating the barrel cluster. One of the earliest Gatling gun mechanisms is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 36,836 issued Nov. 4, 1862 to R. J. Gatling and utilizes a manual crank for rotation of the barrel cluster. Other drive mechanisms, such as the gun system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,701, have utilized either a separate electric or fluid motor to rotate the barrel cluster.
Some drive mechanisms incorporate a gun gas drive unit wherein the energy produced by the gases generated during the discharge of the ammunition from the individual barrels is harnessed to drive the barrel cluster While a gun gas drive system can provide sufficient power to rotate the gun barrel once the firing has commenced, it is necessary to provide a separate power source to provide for initial acceleration and rotation of the barrel cluster and also to provide for any reversing of the barrel cluster. An example of a gun gas driven Gatling gun which includes an externally powered system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,056.